Not For Sale

I FEEL SO WEAK...

My eyes are watery; my body is aching; I feel defeated.

I just finished reading a friend's short story. It reminded me a lot of Saw - the brutality of it. But he is just a kid. A lot of things is to learn from the story, I just hope it's not happening in reality.

I like the way it was written. From a third person point of view, a narration is made. Not the usual narration I read that describes the scenario, a narration that seems to tell the character what to do. It's new to me. It's the first that I encountered one, I believe.

Poor Boy's Pain is really painful. As I was in the middle, I cannot continue reading anymore. What pushed me and kept me going on is my determination to see how it will end. I'm glad to say I found hope. I was happy that he was able to come to his senses. No matter what happens, it is your family that's your starting point, and no matter where you are, you can always return to your home base.

Philippines is a country wherein poverty is an issue. I am thankful that my family is not poor, and equally not rich. We're just in the middle, average. In spite of that, it is unavoidable that there are times when I myself experience poverty in this family. Having no money is very difficult, it immobilized me. I cannot move because I cannot go some place else, I can even buy neither what I need nor what I want.

His case, of course, is a lot worse than mine. He's not properly educated so he doesn't have enough knowledge of how other people are capable of using the likes of him. He took the bait because after all of his experiences in that tunnel, he longed to taste a good life. He kept his dignity, I liked it. But it seems that he was inconsistent of being a good child when he decided not to go back to his family and do whatever it takes to stay in that luxurious room. His charge were fingernails, hair, skin, and eyeballs to be able to stay there.

The ending was very smart and turning. The character I knew from the beginning of the story has finally returned, and he realized that despite a lot of hunger and pain, he is not for sale.